How can I stop my cat from scratching my sofa.?

Question

I have got a scratching post for my cat but she won't use it. Ive had the cat for 5 years but she ignores the s. post walks straight past it and claws away at the sofa. Anyone had this problem with their cat and what did you do about it?

Answer 1

Put catnip on the scratching post, and a little lemon juice on the sofa. Cats love catnip but hate lemon juice.

Or tear its claws out.

Answer 2

While de-clawing the cat would stop the damage, it is not recommended as you are actually destroying the tips of the cat's toes to stop the growth of the claws. The only reason that you should get a cat declawed is if the claws are deformed and are causing the cat medical problems. I had a polydactic cat (extra toes) that had several claws growing wrong and I eventually had to have him declawed. It was a choice of a life of discomfort, or a brief period of pain that would be healed quickly and never again a problem. A better way to do it is to both deter the cat from scratching your furniture and at the same time give them something that they *can* scratch. Something like a scratching post or a "Cat Tree". When the cat is scratching the sofa, gently pull them away from it and take them to the thing that they are allowed to claw. Do not yell or squirt them with water as this stresses them out and I hate to admit it, but some cats can get vindictive and will do it to get revenge. So you pull them away from the one and place them in front of the other and let them scratch that. Also show them that is is for scratching. Scratch it yourself when they can see you doing it. Also if your cat loves catnip then dose that scratching post up and let them go to town. Eventually they will get the idea that you will stop them from scratching everything *but* the item(s) they are allowed to and will start using the one thing that is theirs and theirs alone.

Answer 3

My cat is was just like yours but I did various things to stop him from scratching my sofa. here are some things to help you and your cat:

1. Get ginger spray - you can make it by juicing some ginger or you can find it in a pet store (perhaps). Spray in on the sofa and you cat with probably go away. Do this for a couple of days and soon they get so scared of the spray itself, that next time they threaten to scratch, I just place the spray on the sofa and he stops. (refresh every two or three days and always keeps the spray in the same view as the sofa)

2. Find a catnip spray for the scratching post - this works wonders on my cat. He even seems to be a little more playful and less lazy now i've started using it. You have to respray it every 2 or 3 days, but it works really well.

3. Claw covers - go onto http://www.softclaws.com/ and look at this amazing invention. If you live in a town I would highly recommend this, but i live in a rural area and my cat still needs his claws to defend himself from other cats. So i use the above methods.

4. Next time you cat does scratch and he has his paws on the sofa, role up a newspaper and hit the sofa (not your cat because that's just plain cruel). It startles you cat and if you do it often enough, he or she should learn.

Good luck with you cat!

Answer 4

Firstly, don't do anything that will lessen or stop the trust that the cat has in you, such as spraying water on it/shouting etc.

Scratching is natural cat behaviour, so you are going against instinct. Some people tape over where they scratch, but this seems to get the cat to move to another bit, that isn't taped over.

Get another scratch post, perhaps looking a bit different to the current 1. Some have lots of other things they can play with, which may be interesting to your cat to, to get her familiarised with it.

You can place the new post near to the sofa, giving the cat options to choose between. I scratched 1 myself in front of my own cat, which seemed to encourage her to do it herself.

Behavioural rewards rather than punishments have worked better with my cats, so fuss her and give her treats if and when she scratches.

You can also get 'clicker' trainers, these may work, but I have not used them.

Drastic- If she doesn't use the post, consider getting rid of the sofa temporarily. Eg. use non scratchable seats. It has become important for her to mark her territory there, so put the new post in place of the sofa.

Good luck! Cats are creatures of habit, like us really.
Rob

Answer 5

Neha V's answers are RIGHT ON!

You can buy catnip spray in a bottle for the post and attach your cat's favorite cat toy to it by strong string to encourage playful and enjoyable use of the post.

SOFTCLAWS were a lifesaver for me and my male cat with a long history of scratching my old loveseat. I was moving and going to get new furniture and would be furious if he scratched my brand new stuff. I was horrified at the idea I might have to declaw him (which some above posters are wrong, does not just remove the nail - it removes the appendage up to the cats first knuckle!!)

Age of the cat has nothing to do with it. My cat is 10 and was scratching for almost 3 years. He's now completely broken of the habit.

SOFTCLAWS SOFTCLAWS SOFTCLAWS
They take a good 20 minutes to put on but I took my time to apply them right and they would stay on for over 8 weeks at a time (I would change them more frequently than that for sanitary reasons).

Other but more expensive option, remove the furniture that gets scratched. Cats have scent glands in their wrists and scratching literally marks (physically and scent) the scratched location.

Oh, btw. I no longer even have to use the softclaws on him. The 3+ year habit was broken in under 6 months and 3-4 applications of the rubber-tipped softclaws, new furniture, and catnip spray and top on his scratching post.

:) :) Good Luck!

---------

Added later: re scratching posts.
Another primary use for them, from the cats perspective, is use as a STRETCHING device, quite literally to "flex their muscles" (the muscles in their backs, forearms and front paws). Make sure the post is secure not just some over-the-door-handle floppy thing that would give your cat no resistence.

-------

Answer 6

Scratching posts, whether shop bought or home made from a piece of wood covered in hessian, need to be positioned correctly to be effective. Ideally the post needs to be screwed to a wall at an appropriate height just before the cat reaches his or her favourite sofa or table leg. Polishing wooden furniture with citric smelling or perfumed wax polish also helps to deter them, and double sided sticky tape on the arm of the sofa provides a good deterrent.

Answer 7

Our cats have a scratching post, and use it regularly, and pluck the sofa also, cheeky blighters! We got a new sofa last year when they were still kittens and although we tried to stop them our sofa got plucked, but we figured hey, its just a sofa, and their part of our famaily, we wouldn't change them for anything. When we bought our sofa we got a boucle type fabric that kinda has a 'plucked' look to it so it isn't too bad for us, but I can understand how you feel... I once looked into stuff to stop our cats destroying but my husband wouldn't go for it. I'll try and find the link and paste it below... Think spraying water at them works, a friend of mine at work said he does that with his cats...

Good luck xx

Answer 8

Yes I have had this problem. 2 things I tried when he did it, I actually picked him up whilst he was clawing the sofa and put his claws on the scratching pole then another time ( i know it sounds awful) but I got a plant mister (filled with water) and only squirted him when he clawed on the sofa. Well they must have worked as he doesnt do it any more and he is 8 now.

Answer 9

Well first off DONT get her declawed.tell her off in a ster voice and spray with a bit of water when she sctratches the sofa.Introduce her to the post and start her off with catnip on the post you could also treat her when she uses her scratching post but not too much of a treat she will get the idea and stop using the sofa as a scratching post. good luck

Answer 10

if your sofa is leather, your cat will naturally not scratch the sofa as must as they would a fabric sofa. when your cat does scratch the sofa, shout at it at shut it out of the room for 10 minutes each time. your cat will soon learn that it will get punished if he scratches it.